Doubling down on his own post-inauguration executive orders, Trump took aim again at diversity and specifically, disability confident hiring policies, as a potential cause of the Washington air tragedy, despite acknowledging that he had no evidence.
In a tangled and somewhat rambling 17-minute speech that appeared to be hashed together from the notes in front of him, President Trump specifically mentioned ‘disability’ nine times as potentially the root cause of an air disaster that cost 67 people their lives on Wednesday (29 January) when an airliner collided with a helicopter above Washington’s Potomac River.

DEI

Although the press conference started with a pause to remember the victims, Trump was quick to turn it into a politicised session where he criticised Democrat policies under the Biden and Obama administrations, specifically relating to their pro-diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.

Given the lack of any evidence, Trump was happy to start idle speculation, saying: “We did not know what led to this crash but we have some very strong opinions and ideas…”

Since the start of his second term in office earlier this month, Trump has repeatedly attacked government DEI policies. Asked about what evidence he’d seen that enables him to support claims that diversity hiring policies were the cause of the disaster, he replied: “It just could’ve been” and when pressed regarding how he could come to that conclusion at a moment when the investigation had only just started, he responded: “Because I have common sense”, though Trump acknowledged there was no confirmed cause, saying “It’s all under investigation”.

Evidence

It’s the stuff of dreams for those on the right of the political spectrum; empowering them by the example of a president who talks first and (maybe) thinks later, to say anything they want, irrespective of whether evidence exists or not.

Since the press conference, several commentators have heavily criticised President Trump’s comments. American disability organisation, the National Disability Rights Network, called the claims “baseless” and “irresponsible” while the New York Times said they were “misleading”.

Politics

At what should have been a solemn moment, centred on the victims and families and with commitments to uncover the facts, President Trump rolled up with a circus intent on reducing the investigation to guesswork and gossip and grasping at premature conclusions that align to his own political aims.

Blame is dangerous. In this case it’s almost certain to ignite an ignorant backlash against diversity and in particular, the rights of disabled people to live their lives on equitable terms with non-disabled Americans.